The top of a sleeping volcano is covered with a snow-white cap of snow, which sparkles impressively in the rays of the bright African sun. Perhaps that is why the local population gave it such a name - Kilimanjaro, which in Swahili means "sparkling mountain." In ancient times, the tribes that inhabited the area, who had never seen snow in their life, were sure that it was covered with silver. But they did not dare to test their assumptions for a long time, since many terrifying legends were connected with the volcano, telling about the evil spirits that lived at the top of Kilimanjaro and guarding its treasures. And yet, after some time, the local leader sent a small detachment of the most brave warriors to conquer the mysterious peak. Upon arrival, they immediately set about exploring the "silver" lying everywhere, but, to everyone's surprise, it instantly melted in their hands. Nothing was found on the "sparkling mountain" except eternal cold snows. Then the natives, feeling the cold of a silver ice cap on themselves, gave the giant volcano another name - "The abode of the god of cold."
Many legends related to Kilimanjaro have survived to this day. Locals believe that the top of the volcano is inhabited by gods, and the caves and ravines of the mountain are inhabited by pygmy gnomes who are engaged in hunting and gathering. Weather conditions, according to local beliefs, are associated with the mood of evil spirits living on the mountain.
The beauty of the peak of Kilimanjaro can be seen for many kilometers around the surrounding Tanzanian and Kenyan savannahs. Its outlines are sloping slopes rising to an oblong, flat peak, which in reality is a gigantic 2-kilometer caldera - a vast hollow at the peak of the volcano.
On very hot days you can contemplate a fantastic picture: from afar the bluish base of the mountain becomes almost indistinguishable against the background of the savannah, and it seems that the peak covered with snow is in the air. And the clouds soaring around, often flying below the snow cap, reinforce this effect.
The first mention of the huge snow-capped mountains occurred in the II century BC. e. They were plotted on the geographic map of Ptolemy. However, the official opening date of the "sparkling mountain" is May 11, 1848, when it first appeared before the eyes of German pastor Johannes Rebman. Since 1861, attempts to conquer the summit began to be made: in the same year, a height of 2500 meters was conquered, in 1862 - 4200 meters, and in 1883-1884 and 1887 a point was reached at a height of 5270 meters. All these numerous ascents were made by the Hungarian count Samuel Teleki. Already in October 1889, the German traveler Hans Meyer, in company with the Australian climber Ludwig Purtscler, managed to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro.
Kilimanjaro is a sleeping start-up volcano of almost conical shape, consisting of multiple layers of tephra, hardened lava and volcanic ash. According to scientists, it was formed due to several volcanic movements more than a million years ago.
It includes three main peaks, which are also extinct volcanoes: Shira (3962 m), located in the west, Mawenzi (5149 m) - in the east, and in the central part is the youngest and highest volcano - Kibo (5895 m), on which are numerous cascades of ice terraces. Uhuru Peak, located on the edge of Kibo Crater, is the highest point in Kilimanjaro and throughout Africa.
Volcano Kibo:
Kilimanjaro did not have documented eruptions, but according to local legends, the last major volcanic activity was observed approximately 150,000–200,000 years ago. As a result of studies conducted in 2003, scientists discovered the presence of lava only 400 meters under the crater of the highest peak Kilimanjaro - Kibo. Although no negative predictions regarding volcanic activity have yet been made, gas emissions regularly occur at the top of the volcano, which can lead to its collapse, which, in turn, will cause a major eruption. In the past, several landslides and landslides occurred on Kibo, resulting in the formation of an area known as the “Western breach”.
Today, much is said about global warming, which contributes to the fact that the famous Kilimanjar glaciers are rapidly melting.
Scientists, however, explain this phenomenon not by global warming, but by the falling level of daily precipitation that is necessary to restore the glacial mass. Some researchers believe that the volcano wakes up, resulting in its heating and, as a result, the melting of the ice cap. The concern is the fact that over the past 100 years, the amount of ice and snow covering Kilimanjaro has decreased by more than 80%. In 2005, for the first time in 11 thousand years, their almost complete melting occurred. At the current pace, the extinction of Kilimanjaro snows is expected to occur between 2022 and 2033.
Kilimanjaro Glacier in 2007:
Kilimanjaro in 2012. Top view:
The area occupied by the volcano is 64 km wide and 97 km long. Such huge dimensions allow Kilimanjaro to form his own climate. At an altitude of about 4000 meters above sea level, you can see numerous small streams and rivers born in glaciers that carry life-giving moisture to pastures and fields.
The world of flora and fauna in the Kilimanjaro region is extremely rich and diverse. In the lower part of the mountain, at an altitude of up to 1000 meters, there are savannahs inhabited by monkeys, leopards, serval and honey badger. Interestingly, coffee plantations and banana groves grow on the lower slopes of the mountain, and corn crops are found. At an altitude of 1800 meters, the ownership of humid equatorial forests begins.
The territory, located at an altitude of 2800-4000 meters, is covered by mountain bogs and meadows, strewn with colorful flowers.
Starting at 4400 meters, closer to the top, the kingdom of the mountain desert begins, where only alpine lichens and mosses survive.
Above is the world of cold snows, in which only cold stone and ice can be seen.
Kilimanjaro Glacier at an altitude of 5800 meters:
On the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro live the mountaineers of the chaga, engaged in agriculture, like their ancient ancestors. It is they who grow coffee and banana plantations in the warm and temperate humid climate here.
Kilimanjaro territory has the status of a National Park, which in 1987 was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The conquest of the peak of Kilimanjaro has been very popular among outdoor enthusiasts for many years. Today there are several tourist routes. The most popular among them is Marangu or the Coca-Cola Route, which tourists overcome in 5-6 days. The availability of mountain shelters, which removes the need to pitch tents, greatly simplifies the task. The Whiskey Route or Machame is the most beautiful route, the duration of which is slightly longer than the previous one - 6-7 days. The northern slope of the mountain has only one path - Rongai. On average, it is overcome by tourists in 5-6 days. The longest western route lies through the Shira plateau (5-6 days). The Umbwe route is one of the most difficult - it runs through the dense jungle, which requires some physical preparation. During the conquest of Kilimanjaro, many tourists need adaptation in order to get used to the mountain climate and to avoid mountain sickness.
Among the conquerors of the peak of Kilimanjaro, there are record holders. In 2001, an Italian named Bruno Brunod crossed the Marangou route in just five and a half hours. In 2004, Simon Mtui, a native of Tanzania, in just 8 hours and 27 minutes climbed the most difficult Umbwe trail and went down to the Mveka passage. The Tanzanian did not stop there, and two years later he went along the Umbwe trail back and forth in 9 hours 19 minutes. The first female record belongs to the Englishwoman Rebecca Rhys-Evans, her result of climbing Kilimanjaro peak is 13 hours 16 minutes. The youngest conqueror of a huge volcano is the American Keats Boyd, who conquered the summit at the age of seven.
The magnificent volcano Kilimanjaro was a muse for many creative personalities - books were written about him, films were made, songs were dedicated to him. Among the most famous literary works that mention the African giant are Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Kilimanjaro’s Snow” (1936), Ray Bradbury’s short story entitled “The Car to Kilimanjaro” (1965), and Olga Larionova’s novel “Leopard” from the top of Kilimanjaro "(1965).
According to the book "The Snow of Kilimanjaro" in 1952, Henry King made a film of the same name. The famous volcano can be seen in the sci-fi movie Independence Day (1996) and in the movie Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003).
To get to Mount Kilimanjaro, you first need to get to Tanzania's largest city - Dar es Salaam. The next goal is the city of Moshi, located at the very foot of the volcano. The distance from Dar es Salaam to Moshi is 560-600 km, which is best overcome by bus departing early in the morning to reach the final destination by night. In the town there are many cozy hotels that convey all the local flavor. You can get to the mountain only with a special permit, which will help to arrange any of the travel agencies that exist in abundance in Moshi. There, tourists are helped to organize the ascent by finding a suitable route, choosing a guide and time. Moshi can also be reached from Kenya's capital, Nairobi, which is 290 km away.
Despite the plains prevailing in Africa, mountain systems are also there. Many of them are located in the Afro-Asian belt, the youngest mountain belt of our planet, which appeared about 40 million years ago and stretched from the south of the African continent to the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk.
How African volcanoes formed
Mountains in Africa did not form as usual, on the sides of the lithospheric plate, but in the middle: a crack appeared in the east of the African continent, the length of which is about 6 thousand km, and the width varies from 80 to 120 km.
This territory is quite vast. The great African fault runs along almost the entire east coast of the mainland, starting from countries in the north of the continent, such as Sudan and Ethiopia, and reaches the south - South Africa. At the moment, it is the largest fault on land, along which there are seismic zones, active, dormant and extinct volcanoes, as well as the African part of the mountain zone.
Relatively recently, geologists have noticed that in Ethiopia, on the territory of the Afar desert, a depression has formed, in which after some time the ocean may well end up: in 2005 there were several earthquakes in a row, as a result of which the earth fell a hundred meters below sea level.
The earth's crust has not calmed down and is in constant motion, as a result of which active tectonic processes are observed, including extremely strong activation of volcanoes in the area of \u200b\u200bLake Victoria, in the west in the Virunga Mountains (southwestern Uganda) and in the east in northern Tanzania.
The list of the largest volcanoes
In total, there are about 15 volcanoes in Africa. Many of them without problems fall into the category of "most-most." For example, here is the Lengai volcano - the only fire-breathing mountain on the planet that spews black lava, and in the territory of Rwanda there is the world-famous national park, where the largest number of sleeping volcanoes of our planet are located.
Speaking about the volcanoes of Africa, one cannot but mention:
Kilimanjaro
The height of Kilimanjaro volcano is 5899 meters, and it is its peak that is the highest point on the African continent. It is located on the border between Kenya and Tanzania (mainly in the latter) and is located away from the nearby mountain range.
To climb this mountain, it is necessary to overcome absolutely all the climatic zones of the Earth, from the equatorial (located at the foot of the mountain) to the Antarctic: on the top of the volcano, there has been cold for thousands of years and snow has lain (and this, given that its coordinates are only on three degrees south of the equator!).
Recently, the ice peak of Kilimanjaro has been melting at an appalling speed and, according to scientists, it is quite possible that in a few years the snow on it will disappear altogether.
It is on the African continent that the lowest volcano of our planet is recorded - Dallol, located 48 meters below sea level, and located within the famous Afar triangle.
This volcano is very old - its age is about 900 million years. He still behaves quite actively: despite the fact that the last time he erupted almost a hundred years ago, in 1929, he is currently awake - quite active processes are taking place in his bowels, which we can observe due to the presence of thermal sources filled with sulfuric and hydrochloric acid.
Thermal waters constantly bring salt crystals to the surface of the earth's crust, thus, about a thousand tons of salt annually appear near the volcano, which extremely affects the landscape - the volcano's crater, which is almost 1.5 thousand meters in size, is surrounded by plains of various shades and coloring books.
Kenya
The volcano Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya, as well as the second highest mountain in the African continent: its height is 5199 meters. Currently, this mountain is an extinct stratovolcano, and therefore does not cause any concern in scientists.
Like Kilimanjaro, the top of the Kenya volcano is covered with glaciers, whose area is 0.7 square meters. km - and this, despite the fact that it is located even closer to the equator than the highest mountain in Africa, and its geographical coordinates are:
- 0 ° 09′00 ″ South;
- 37 ° 18′00 ″ East.
The snow cover here has recently melted at an appalling speed and may soon also completely disappear from the mountain. Until this happens, the melting snow of the volcano and rainfall on the mountain are an important source of drinking water in Kenya.
Meru
The volcano Meru is the third highest volcano in Africa: its height is 4565 meters. The mountain is located in the north of Tanzania, forty kilometers from Kilimanjaro (coordinates: 3 ° 15′00 ″ south latitude, 36 ° 45′00 ″ east longitude).
It is likely that in former times the Meru volcano was much higher, but 250 thousand years ago during the strongest eruption its peak was severely destroyed (its eastern part was especially heavily damaged). After that, there were several very strong emissions that significantly affected the appearance of the mountain.
The last time the Meru volcano erupted strongly in 1910, since then it has calmed down somewhat and has not been particularly active. Scientists do not give any guarantees that he will not wake up.
Cameroon
Cameroon volcano is the highest point of Cameroon, whose height is 4070 meters and is located off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
This volcano behaves quite actively: only in the last century it erupted more than five times, and the eruptions were so strong that people often had to look for new places of residence for themselves.
The western and southwestern sides of the volcano are the wettest places on the African continent, since almost 10 thousand mm of rain falls here annually.
In the Republic of Congo, 20 km from the city of the millionaire Goma, about 40% of all eruptions that occur on the African continent are recorded: there are two actively active volcanoes - Nyiragongo and Nyamlagara.
The Nyiragongo volcano is especially dangerous: over the past 150 years, it has erupted thirty-four times, and its volcanic activity after this has often been manifested over several years. This volcano is dangerous primarily because of its extremely liquid consistency lava, which during the eruption is capable of moving at a speed of 100 km / h.
This lava periodically comes to the surface in the crater of the Nyiragongo volcano, whose width is two kilometers, thus forming the largest hot lake on our planet with a constantly changing depth, the maximum values \u200b\u200bof which were recorded in 1977 and amounted to 600 meters. The walls of the crater could not stand such a load, and the red-hot lava flows that unexpectedly fell on the nearest villages, killing several hundred people, also collapsed.
Nowadays, given that in recent years the volcano erupts more and more often, scientists fear that lava is quite capable of reaching the city of Goma and destroying it like Pompeii. Moreover, the first alarm bells have already sounded: in 2002, despite all the warnings about the danger, during the eruption of Nyiragongo lava reached the city, destroyed 14 thousand buildings and killed almost one hundred and fifty people.
And here, nearby is the most gigantic mountain - Kilimanjaro volcano (Tanzania). West Africa is distinguished by stand-alone volcanoes of the countries of the Congo and Cameroon. This is a long extinct and heavily destroyed volcano. Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest mountain in Africa (after Kilimanjaro).
The most famous of them are Fako (Cameroon) - a height of 4050 meters and Nyiragongo (Congo) - a height of 3470 meters. And Rwanda is famous for its national volcano park, where there are a large number of sleeping volcanoes, the highest of which is Karisimbi. By active volcano is meant a volcano erupted in historical time or having manifestations of fumarole or sulfate activity.
Aberdare Range (Lord Aberdare Range) is a mountain range in Africa located in the center of Kenya, north of its capital, Nairobi. Cape Mountains, mountains in southern Africa, in South Africa, between Port Elizabeth in the east and the mouth of the river. Olyphants on the West. Length about 800 km. Consist of several parallel ridges.
It is called the highest lonely mountain, as it is not adjoined by other mountain ranges that could distract attention from the main peak. The lowest of them, the Shira, arose, according to scientists, after the initial eruption of the volcano. In the driest months, when the conditions for climbing are the most favorable, include December - February and August-September.
In terms of technology, this is the most complex object of the Seven Summits of Africa. The picturesque landscapes surrounding you during the ascent, the many wildlife and birds living here make the ascent one of the most amazing adventures in Africa. Travel to the fantastic world of the Ruvenzori massif in the most poorly studied part of central Africa.
Ras Dashen is the highest peak of the Abyssinian Highlands and the country of Ethiopia. When, following the Straits and Palestine, the Orthodox state in Africa would be included in it.
Kilimanjaro - There are other meanings to this term, see Kilimanjaro (meanings). From Port Elizabeth to Worcester, they stretch for 600 km from east to west and frame a longitudinal valley - Maloe Karru (see Karru) from the north (Swartberg Range) and the south (Langeberg Range, Autenikwaberge).
The highest volcanoes in the world
On the windward slopes in the west - mainly secondary thickets of evergreen shrubs (finbosh), in the east - mixed coniferous-deciduous forests on brown and mountain-forest brown soils. This is partly due to the fact that not so long ago, our friend, one can say the famous traveler Nikolai Nosov, successfully completed the task of climbing the seven highest peaks of the “Black Continent”.
The most dangerous active volcanoes in the world
The mountain is iconic, with which usually all collecting begins. Climbing Kilimanjaro is a test of physical and moral endurance, it is an acquaintance with African specifics.
Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania, near the border of Kenya. This huge isolated volcanic massif with a base of 100 km in length and 75 km in width. It covers an area of \u200b\u200b756 square meters. km, includes the alpine zone, the Shira plateau, the peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi. However, on the other hand, a significant height above sea level determines the altitudinal zonality and above 5500 meters the climate can be called arctic.
Jebel Tubkal or Tubkal (fr. Toubkal / Jbel Toubkal) - the highest mountain of the Atlas Mountains and Morocco, located in northwestern Africa. This is the most popular mountain in the world from the list of seven peaks of the continents. The extinct volcano Kilimanjaro (5963 m), the highest point of the mainland and the other highest mountains, are located on the East African Plateau, broken by faults.
A volcano is a very beautiful, but at the same time dangerous and unpredictable natural phenomenon. To see his eruption means to get an unforgettable experience, but at this time you have to be at a great distance from the center of events, because it covers huge areas with ash, lava and volcanic bombs. Such natural phenomena exist on all continents. And today we’ll talk about what kind of Africa it is.
The highest, but no longer active volcano here is Kilimanjaro. Its height is approximately 5895 meters. In Swahili, the name means "white mountain." It is the largest volcano in Africa in Tanzania, just 300 km south of the equator. Kilimanjaro consists of 3 separate cones, the highest peak is Kibo (5895 meters). The second peak is Mawenzi (5149 m), the third is Shira (3962 m). At the top of Kibo there is a crater with a diameter of about 3 km and a depth of 800 m.
The highest volcano in Africa, whose name you already know, began to form several million years ago, when the lava exceeded the fault zone. Mawenzi and Shira are already extinct peaks, but Kibo can get out of a state of rest at any moment and erupt with renewed vigor. The last significant eruption was 360,000 years ago, and data on volcanic activity were recorded in the 19th century.
The pioneer of Kilimanjaro was Johannes Rebman. This happened in 1848, although, of course, the mention of this volcano was many years before the official opening date. Austrian Ludwig Purcell and German Hans Meyer were the first to climb Kilimanjaro's highest peak on October 6, 1889.
The largest volcano in Africa has a lot of snow at its peak, which appeared there many years ago after the ice age, and now its amount is gradually reduced. Scientists believe that soon the snow will disappear there altogether.
Kilimanjaro is a beautiful mountain, the climbing of which is very popular among tourists, because it allows you to feel right away 3 At the very beginning (the first 3 km) there are tropical forest, mountain rivers, streams and waterfalls. Residents in the area successfully grow bananas, coffee, corn. In the middle of the ascent is the desert, and at the very top - snow. Kilimanjaro features are the absence of a bamboo zone and great biodiversity with a fairly low endemicity of some species.
The largest volcano in Africa is an ideal place for tourists. There are even specially created routes, some of them are intended exclusively for ascent, others for descent. However, it is not as simple as it might seem. Before climbing, people must be prepared, because at a considerable height it is easy to experience a lack of oxygen, headache and hypothermia. Pulmonary or cerebral edema may occur. According to some reports, more people died on Kilimanjaro than on Everest.
There are Africa, and one of the largest such is Cameroon, whose height is more than 4 km. He is quite active, so he has good chances to quickly grow a great height.
There are many volcanoes on the territory of the African continent, especially in its eastern part. Ethiopia alone has about fifty active dangerous mountains. There are volcanoes in countries such as Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Cameroon, etc.
But how dangerous are these African mountains? Listed below are ten of the most frightening of them.
Dabbahu (Ethiopia)
This active volcano is located in the East African Rift Valley. In 2005, his last eruption was so powerful that a 60 km long crack formed in the ground. The erupted ashes spread within a radius of 40 km.
Three days after awakening, Dabbahu had an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 magnitude. Ethiopian authorities were forced to evacuate more than 11 thousand local residents.
Marion Island (South Africa)
This small island is actually the peak of a huge underwater volcano, rising 1242 meters above the level of the Indian Ocean. Over the past 40 years, the volcano has woken up twice: in 1980 and 2004.
Now on this island live only scientists exploring a dangerous mountain. In case of danger, they will be able to evacuate by boat.
All Doinho Lengai (Tanzania)
Translated from the language of the local Maasai tribe, Ol-Doinho-Lengai means "Mountain of God." In 2007, a powerful eruption caused a series of earthquakes, reaching 6 points on the Richter scale. The volcano is very active - over the past ten years it has woken up four times.
Manda Hararo (Ethiopia)
This name unites a whole group of volcanoes, first awakened in 2007. Powerful eruptions lasted three days, but, fortunately, they managed to evacuate local residents. Two years later, the volcano exploded again, forming lava flows up to 5 kilometers long.
Mount Cameroon
Mount Cameroon is the most dangerous volcano in western Africa. In 2000, after two of its eruptions, lava flows came close to the city of Buea. In 2012, the volcano exploded again, throwing a huge amount of ash into the air.
Mount Cameroon is a great danger to 500 thousand people living in the immediate vicinity near it.
Nyamlagira (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
This volcano is considered the most active on the continent. For several decades, he woke up every two years. After a major eruption in 2011, Nyamlagira relatively quieted down, but in recent years it has woken up and a lava lake 500 meters deep has formed in its crater.
Despite the fact that there are no settlements near the volcano, it poses a great danger to the neighboring Lake Kivu.
Fogue (Cape Verde)
On November 23, 2014, seismic activity near Mount Fogu first increased, and then the volcano exploded. Due to strong tremors, local residents were completely evacuated. The eruption lasted almost 80 days, during which time two villages were destroyed. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
The whole island of Fogu is part of a huge volcano with a diameter of 25 km. If a major eruption begins, it will put several tens of thousands of residents in an extremely difficult situation.
Kartala (Comoros)
Mount Kartala, located on the island of Ngazija, is an active volcano rising 2361 m above sea level. Over the past 120 years, it has erupted more than twenty times, therefore it is considered very dangerous.
In 2005, the activity of the volcano reached its upper limit. A strong Kartaly eruption, accompanied by large lava flows and deadly volcanic gases, led to the evacuation of more than 30 thousand people.
In subsequent years, it flared up three more times, but much weaker. More than 300 thousand inhabitants of the island live on a “powder keg” all the time, because the next strong eruption can lead to a big catastrophe.
Nabro (Ethiopia)
In June 2011, the strongest eruption of the Ethiopian volcano Nabro occurred. It was accompanied by powerful emissions of lava and ash, as well as a series of earthquakes, reaching magnitudes of 5.7 in strength. The ash that flew out of the crater rose to a height of 15 kilometers and scattered over a huge distance, making air transportation of the whole region difficult.
The main blow from the eruption fell on the Afar region in Ethiopia. More than thirty people died, thousands were evacuated. This eruption was the first for Nabro. Until this time, he was considered asleep, so studies have not been conducted.
Nyiragonga (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
This Congolese volcano, shown in the main photo, is considered the most dangerous on the continent. Over the past 135 years, it has exploded at least 34 times.
Nyiragonga is deadly because of its lava. It is very liquid, so it can travel considerable distances at high speed. In 1977, a lava flow, moving at a speed of more than 60 km / h, burned several villages and killed at least 70 people. 25 years later, after another major eruption, a crack formed from a crater to the neighboring town of Goma, along which hot lava flowed. Almost 150 people died, about 400 thousand were evacuated.
The biggest danger coming from Nyiragongi is related to the neighboring Lake Kivu. If lava enters it, a large amount of carbon dioxide can be released into the atmosphere, as happened in 1986 near Lake Nyos, where 1,700 people died from asphyxiation. Given that more than two million people live near Kivu, the scale of the tragedy is hard to imagine.